Introduction to Temporale Präpositionen
In German, temporal prepositions help indicate when an action takes place. They answer questions like “Wann?” (When?) and “Wie lange?” (How long?). Common temporal prepositions include am, im, um, ab, seit, and bis.
Common Temporal Prepositions and Their Uses
| Preposition |
Meaning |
Use |
Example |
| am |
on |
Days and parts of the day |
am Montag (on Monday), am Abend (in the evening) |
| im |
in |
Months and seasons |
im Juli (in July), im Winter (in winter) |
| um |
at |
Specific times |
um 9 Uhr (at 9 o’clock) |
| ab |
from |
Starting points |
ab morgen (from tomorrow) |
| seit |
since, for |
Duration up to the present |
seit 2010 (since 2010), seit einer Woche (for a week) |
| bis |
until |
End point in time |
bis Freitag (until Friday) |
Examples of Temporale Präpositionen in Sentences
- Ich arbeite am Freitag. (I work on Friday.) - Using "am" for a day
- Wir fahren im Sommer in den Urlaub. (We go on vacation in the summer.) - Using "im" for a season
- Der Kurs beginnt um 18 Uhr. (The course starts at 6 p.m.) - Using "um" for a specific time
- Er bleibt ab nächster Woche bei uns. (He will stay with us from next week.) - Using "ab" for a starting point
- Ich lerne Deutsch seit einem Jahr. (I have been learning German for a year.) - Using "seit" for a duration up to now
- Der Laden ist bis 20 Uhr geöffnet. (The store is open until 8 p.m.) - Using "bis" for an end time
Special Notes
Seit is often used to express the duration up to the present moment and is frequently used with the present tense:
- Ich wohne seit drei Jahren hier. (I have been living here for three years.)
In contrast, ab expresses the starting point for an action in the future:
- Ab nächstem Monat arbeite ich in Berlin. (Starting next month, I will work in Berlin.)